The ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled faintly, and fine ripples spread across the still waters of Lake Tonnigat, expanding in rings to lap against the sandy shore.
The Subterranean Lizard began lashing its tail restlessly, opening its mouth to let out sharp hisses, instinctive wariness reflected in its slit pupils.
"Easy, little fellow."
Renato reached out and gently stroked the neck of the giant lizard beneath his saddle. Its agitation gradually subsided, and it let out a low rumble in its throat before settling back down, resting its head on its forelegs.
The tremor passed as quickly as it had come, lasting only a few breaths. At the lakeside docks, the Half-Drow slaves responsible for unloading continued handling the ships' cargo as usual, paying the minor earthquake no mind.
Such minor earthquakes had been frequent in Samoriel City lately, sometimes even bringing down crudely built stone-slab houses. Renato had once seen a low house built of rubble near the West Wall collapse with a crash during a tremor, sending up a cloud of gray-white dust.
Fortunately, the unlucky souls living there had escaped in time. They had suffered only a few broken bones, and no one had died.
According to the Drow, these aftershocks had continued ever since the Great Earthquake.
They had later subsided for more than half a year, but just when people thought the geological activity was coming to an end, the tremors had begun growing frequent again in recent days.
Yet none of the city's residents seemed truly concerned. They firmly believed that Lolth, the Spider Queen, protected this holy city, and that her divine power was enough to ward off any natural disaster that threatened the Drow.
The priestesses' confidence was not unfounded. After all, even the tremendous Great Earthquake, which had sent the